Silicon photonics provide 90% of the efficiency of conventional electronics at one-tenth of the cost, according to Bharat Book Bureau (3B; Mumbai, India). Plus, they require one-third the power consumption, and no additional manufacturing technology is needed to produce them. "This makes [silicon photonics] attractive for customers and lucrative for manufacturers," 3B noted in an announcement of its new report covering the worldwide market, called Silicon Photonics (2009 - 2014).
The report says that while technological advancements and a wide range of application areas are driving the demand for silicon photonics, other factors--including high R&D cost, integration and packaging issues, and limited commercialization--are restraining growth. Still, 3B expects the market to grow at a CAGR of 105.3% from 2009 to 2014 thanks to new products and applications. In 2008, it says, the global silicon photonics market weighed in at $23.21 million. The report predicts plenty of new opportunities.
The report segments the market as follows:
Silicon photonics products: Silicon waveguides, silicon modulators, silicon interconnects, wavelength division multiplexer filters, silicon LED and silicon photo detector.
Silicon photonic devices: Silicon optical transceivers, silicon optical switches, silicon optical ICs, silicon photovoltaic cells, silicon photovoltaic cells and emerging products such as silicon lasers and silicon photonic amplifiers.
Silicon photonics applications: Telecommunication and data transfer, information processing, sensing, metrology, displays, consumer electronics, others.
Silicon photonics technology: Silicon submount technology, passive waveguide technology, passive optical alignment.
Barbara Gefvert | Editor-in-Chief, BioOptics World (2008-2020)
Barbara G. Gefvert has been a science and technology editor and writer since 1987, and served as editor in chief on multiple publications, including Sensors magazine for nearly a decade.